Simon’s 1977 work ‘Chapter Two’ feels dated

Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical “Chapter Two,” which premiered in 1977, was a turning point in the “Odd Couple” playwright’s career. About a widower and a divorcée uncertain about striking up a new romance, it was a more personal kind of storytelling inspired by his second wife, actress Marsha Mason.

Mason, a four-time Oscar nominee who starred in the movie adaptation of the play, is revisiting the material as director of Arizona Theatre Company’s season-opening production. The show offers plenty of laughs, some touching moments, and the kind of top-notch acting and production values audiences expect from “the state’s theater.”

What it doesn’t offer is anything particularly fresh or surprising.

Mason has chosen to update the setting to the present day, with cellphones and laptops and script changes referencing HDTV and DVRs. The problem is that the social mores, the gender dynamics, the idioms and the pop-culture allusions are all 40 years old.

Seriously, when was the last time you heard someone joke about Jimmy Carter’s Playboy interview or use the phrase “greased lightning” — or the word “divorcée” for that matter?

“Chapter Two” would really work better as a period piece, but in this version the feeling of being caught between two eras extends to the costume design, the hairdos and even the choice

of music for scene transitions. Steely Dan is great, but it doesn’t exactly scream 2017.

The cast is perfectly charming. As the widowed spy novelist George Schneider, David Mason (no relation to Marsha) is equal parts endearing awkwardness and annoying arrogance, and

Blair Baker, as divorced actress Jennie Malone, has a down-to-earth sweetness that makes you want to root for her, even if the character’s relentless goodness comes off as an advertisement for psychotherapy (“analysis” — another outdated term — is a common topic of conversation here).

Diana Pappas adds salty sass as gal pal and soap-opera star Faye, and if Ben Huber, playing George’s brother Leo, doesn’t seem remotely related to his scene partner in looks or speech, he is the only actor who manages to make the dialogue feel like something written in the current century.

Neil Simon’s rhythms as a comedy writer are impeccable, but the most compelling moments in “Chapter Two” are the serious ones that confront loss and grief. Nonetheless, the play doesn’t pack the same punch as his best dramedies (“Biloxi Blues,” for example).

It may represent a turning point, but it doesn’t quite stand the test of time.